This study is by no means intended to be an in-depth musical analysis of the songs of the First World War. Lyrical analysis makes up the greater part of the commentary here simply because lyrics represent the most overt message of the pieces and are therefore the most accessible part of the song for the average listener or singer. Nonetheless, a basic understanding of the musical elements of these songs is important because music creates a subconscious effect in the listener or singer and, independent of the lyrics, creates the mood of the piece. Below, in alphabetical order for convenience, are the musical terms and ideas most frequently referred to in the analysis of this music (although most terms are also glossed throughout this website). Note that while some songs give musical direction in English, it is most common in any kind of music to find the musical notation in Italian. These are not formal musical dictionary definitions, but rather intended to be user friendly and practical for the non-musician interested in this collection of World War I sheet music. This glossary should be sufficient to achieve an understanding of the basic musical effect created by each of the songs.

Accent - may also be marked sfz (sforzando - 'straining'); an accented note is to be played more strongly (loudly) than those around it.

Allegretto con affetto - 'quickly with affection', to be played with excitement.

Allegro - 'happily', to be played rather quickly and in an upbeat manner.

Andante - 'at a walking pace', to be played in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

Bar - also called a measure; a bar is one unit of music within the piece; the music is divided by bar lines which helps the musician to navigate the music and to count note values more easily.

Brilliante - 'sparkling', to be played brightly with energy.

Chorus - a section of a piece that is repeated between verses; it usually contains the main message of the song and often the title of the piece as well; almost all of the pieces in this collection have verse/chorus structure, which is very common in popular song; see also "Verse".

Con doloroso - 'with pain', to be played heavily and with sadness.

Con expressione - 'with expression', to be played with emotion.

Con fuoco - 'with fire', to be played energetically.

Con spirito - 'with spirit', to be played with enthusiasm.

Crescendo - getting gradually louder; see also "Dynamics".

Diminuendo - getting gradually softer; see also "Dynamics"

Dynamics - dynamics indicate how loudly or quietly a piece should be played; most songs vary from pianissimo (pp - very soft) to fortissimo (ff - very loud) running through piano (p - soft), mezzo piano (mp - medium soft), mezzo forte (mf - medium loud) and forte (f - loud); dynamics may also indicate a gradual change in loudness with a crescendo (getting louder) or a diminuendo (getting softer).

Key Signature - the key signature is given at the beginning of the piece and holds throughout unless a change is indicated; the key signature tells the musician to play certain notes either sharp (raised by a half tone) or flat (lowered by a half tone) consistently; for the purpose of this study it is only important to know that there are two main types of key signatures: major signatures, which sound happy, and minor signatures, which sound sad. Maestoso - 'majestic', to be played regally.

Marcato - 'marked', to be played strongly with lots of accentuation.

Marziale - 'in a marching style', to be played as a march; see also "Tempo di Marcia".

Moderato - 'moderately', somewhat held back, not too energetic.

Notes - these are the building blocks of music; notes have two characteristics; the first, pitch, indicates how high or low the note is; the second, value, indicates how long the note should be held and is what makes up the rhythm; note values work just like fractions; from longest to shortest they are: the whole note (four beats), the half note (two beats), the quarter note (one beat), the eighth note (one half beat) and the sixteenth note (one quarter beat); there are also thirty-second and sixty-fourth notes, but these do not appear in any of the music examined here; see also "Rhythm".

Pause - also called a fermata; a pause indicates that the note is to be played for longer than its written value; the length of the pause is left to the discretion of the musician.

Rallantando - 'slowing down', also written as rall., often indicates the end of a piece or an transition from verse to chorus; synonymous with "Ritardando".

Ritardando - 'slowing down', also written as rit.; often indicates the end of a piece or an transition from verse to chorus; synonymous with "Rallantando".

Rhythm - this term refers to the combination of note values in the piece, which gives the melody its shape; very generally, a rhythm can be broad, which means that notes are usually long and the piece feels slower, or the rhythm can be busy, which means that the note values are short and the piece feels faster; see also "Notes". There are three main rhythms that appear in WWI music:

a) The Straight Rhythm: this is the simplest kind of rhythm; in it there is no deviation from the expected pattern of the music nor from the expected value of the notes; straight music sound very simple and predictable; examples include "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

b) The Dotted Rhythm: in this rhythm instead of playing two notes of equal value together, one of the notes is lengthened and the other shortened (technically, the dot indicates that a note should receive an additional half of its original value); repeated dotted rhythms feel like a waves rocking a boat; an example of dotted rhythms are the words "Canada" and "Patriot" in the Canadian National Anthem.

c) The Syncopated Rhythm: in this rhythm the stressed beat in the measure does not fall on the first beat as the ear expects, but rather falls in an unexpected place in the bar; syncopation feels jazzy and gives the music an unsettled feeling; an example of a syncopated piece is "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", in which syncopated notes fall on "round" and "tree" and "have" (of: "have a happy holiday"). Another song with lots of syncopation is Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer".

Suspension - a suspension occurs when a note is held across the bar line and therefore the first note of the bar is not replayed; this throws off the listener because the expected first note of the bar never comes and the repetitive beat is interrupted.

Tempo - the tempo marking indicates how fast the piece should be played; generally faster tempos are more exciting or anxious, while slower tempos are subdued or gentle.

Tempo di Marcia - 'in a marching tempo", to be played as a march; see also "Marziale".

Tempo di Valse - 'waltzing tempo', to be played as though people are dancing.

Time Signature - the time signature is given at the beginning of the piece and holds throughout unless a change is indicated; the time signature tells the musician how many beats there are in each bar and what kind of note counts for a single beat; the time signature gives the music its 'feel'; for example, a piece in 3/4 time (indicating three quarter notes in each bar) feels like a waltz, while a piece in common time (indicating four quarter notes in each bar) feels like a march; the 'feel' results from the fact that the first beat in each bar is usually played more strongly than the others.

Verse - a section of a piece whose lyrics change each time it is sung; verses are interspersed between repeated choruses; verses may tell a story that unfolds gradually through the song or may relate a new subject each time a new one is sung; almost all of the pieces in this collection have verse/chorus structure, which is very common in popular song; see also "Chorus".